I woke up at 5 am of course, even without the alarm, but I managed to drift off to sleep again.
Jackie and I went out for breakfast about 9am, but it is a national holiday and we could not find anything open. We decided to go to the nearby Hilton, as their treasured guest would hardly be doing without breakfast. The Hilton cafe was very nice. As my gastro had returned (no doubt influenced by unwise food and drink choices of the previous evening) I decided against the buffet and had coffee and waffles. Jackie had pancakes and the fruit platter. All up it was USD $21 for both of us (approximately $30 NZD).
We then went to an adventure camping shop we had seen the night before. They sold a lot of camping stuff including tents, but no tent pegs. I need to get some more before we hit windy conditions as I have only 4 pegs. My tent only came with 6 pegs, and when packing the tent up in the morning it is still dark so I have mislaid a couple.
After this we went back to the hotel as we had to check out of our rooms by midday. I had decided to pay and get my own room for the next two nights, as it was only $32 USA a night (NZ $46). I was thinking I would have to wait for Anna from TDA to get here to explain this to the hotel staff, as they do not speak English. Just then Anna and Christano arrived.
Christano said yesterday had been a tough day. New Zealand rider Phil had taken a wrong turn and they did not locate him until 9pm. By this time Christiano had started ringing the hospitals and had alerted the police etc. The lunch truck did not get in until 7pm as it had been out looking for him. A number of the riders were bitten badly by sand-flies while riding (see Sue’s blog for the photos of her leg!). Christano said he is not normally bitten by sand-flies but he was also attacked. Pleased I was not there as I have only nearly gotten over the last lot of bad bites! The ride today was also 143 kilometres, and over 2,800 meters of climbing, so a number of the riders will not get in until late this afternoon. The dinner truck then arrived so I helped bring in bags and bikes etc., then Anna sorted out my room for me.
Bring in the bags (Photo credit: from Sue’s blog)
My room is small – a 3/4 bed, a bedside table, and a desk, plus the ensuite. It has a nice big window and it is nice to have my own space. Hopefully Sue will by default get her own room, and I will not have to worry about passing my bug to her. I spent the afternoon charging all the appliances, catching up on emails and the blog, and sewing. My expensive rain jacket needs sewing up again, this time took over an hour (probably a third of the time was re-threading the needle), plus a couple of other things.
I caught up with Sue for dinner, we went to a pizza place and I got a small pizza. First thing since waffles this morning so fingers crossed! Sue was very pleased as she also has her own room and is also enjoying having the space to herself. Sue said she got the bites when she stopped for a couple of minutes. She went to get back on her bike and the bites had blood! Today they have been driving her mad, even with antihistamine. I will cover myself in spray for the next few days before riding, instead of just when I get into camp. Sue also updated me that a couple of other riders also struck by the gastro. Two more riders lost their EFI today, now I think only 6 still have it – and we are only a month in.
Tomorrow I need to get glue for my bike shoe, and go to a couple of tourist spots.
Our hotel in Quito (Photo and caption credit: Sue’s blog)
Kaye's Awesome Adventures 